PRACTICAL TREE SURGERY' 



B\ ]. Franklin Collins 



IT IS a well-known fact that trees 

 are subect to all sorts of injuries, 

 from sources too numerous to 

 mention. In a great majority of 

 cases these injuries are allowed to re- 

 main untreated — often for years. Rot- 

 jjroducing fungi commonly gain en- 

 trance at these places, and eventually 

 the original inconspicuous or unob- 

 served injury develops into a compara- 

 tively large area of decay. The real 

 aim of tree surgery is to repair the dam- 

 age resulting from such neglected in- 

 juries and rotted areas. 



In most tree-surgery work a few fun- 

 damental j)rinciples must be observed 

 in order that permanent good results 

 may be realized. Remove all decayed, 

 diseased, or injured wood and bark. 

 When on small limbs, this can often 

 best be done by removing the limb. On 

 larger limbs or on the trunk it may at 

 times mean the digging out of a cavity. 

 (2) Sterlize all cut surfaces. (o) 

 Waterproof all cut surfaces. (4) Leave 

 the work in the most favorable condi- 

 tion for rapid healing. This will often 

 mean the filling of deep cavities. (5j 

 Watch the work from year to year for 

 defects. If any appear they should be 

 attended to immediately. 



Tree surgery, or, more properly, tree 

 repair work, is not a mysterious art 

 known only to a favored few who alone 

 are lilted to undertake it. It can be 

 undertaken by any careful man who 

 has a good general knowledge of the 

 structure and life history of a tree, its 

 normal manner of covering wounds, 

 and how insects and decay organisms 

 cause damage, provided he can handle 

 a gouge and mallet, a saw, and a tar 

 brush and applies in a practical manner 

 his knowledge of the anatomy of a 

 tree, together with a generous admix- 

 ture of good common sense. For work 

 in the tops of trees he will also need a 

 clear head and ability to climb. Many 



tree owners and many persons in 

 charge of private estates are well 

 qualified to undertake tree surgery if 

 the requisite time is available and they 

 will familiarize themselves with the 

 fundamental principles and operations 

 underlying the work, at least to the ex- 

 tent presented in this article. 



PREVENTIVE MEASURES. 



It is no easy matter to find a place 

 where the well-worn phrase "preven- 

 tion is better than cure" could be ap- 

 plied with greater appropriateness than 

 in connection with tree surgery. Ice 

 or wind may break limbs or uproot 

 trees which injure others as they fall. 

 Horses commonly gnaw away portions 

 of the bark of street trees unprotected 

 by tree guards. Telephone, telegraph, 

 and electric linemen with their climb- 

 ing spurs and saws are notorious muti- 

 lators of shade trees, especially in towns 

 where the trimming of trees is not 

 regulated by law. Poorly insulated 

 electric wires of high voltage often dis- 

 charge heavy currents through the trees. 

 Wheel hubs frequently tear away large 

 pieces of bark. After a few years, de- 

 cay may penetrate into the interior of 

 the tree from any or all of these in- 

 jured places (Plate 1, figure 4). This 

 decay may increase from year to year 

 until large limbs, or the trunk itself, 

 become so weakened that they are eas- 

 ily broken by violent storms (Plate 1, 

 figure (3). It requires comparatively 

 little time and expense to clean and 

 paint a fresh injury. It often requires 

 much time and expense to treat proper- 

 ly the same injury after it has been neg- 

 lected for a few years. Almost every 

 large decayed cavity has resulted from 

 an injury which would have required 

 comparatively little time and effort to 

 clean, sterilize, and waterproof at the 

 time it occurred. 



♦Extracts from a bulletin by J. Franklin Collins. 



■19 



